Ervin Yong shares his internship experience with the Performance Monitoring & Reporting (PMR) team and the benefits of data visualisation.
3 words to describe IHiS
Innovative, Enjoyable, CollaborativeHow did you clinch the internship/ job?
I prepared for the interview by researching IHiS' projects and the role of an intern. This allowed me to adequately answer my supervisor's questions during the interview.
What is your current role and job scope? What's a typical work day like for you?
My department is responsible for healthcare clusters' budget planning and workplan progress tracking which include performance reporting. My role is to produce visualisations of budget data to make it easier for people to understand this information at a glance, allowing team mates to be able to slice and dice and pull insights from it. A typical work day usually involves cleaning up the data and verifying the values. I then input this data into a front-end visualisation tool to create data dashboard in the form of graphs, charts and other visual aids.
What got you interested in HealthTech sector?
I find the HealthTech industry interesting as it can add value to people's lives through technology. It is a growing industry with untapped potential. It is extremely important to Singapore as we have a growing elderly population that will require quality healthcare.
Why did you join IHiS?
IHiS is one of the healthcare IT leaders in Singapore that helps to improve the Singapore population's health through cost effective technologies. I experienced first-hand some of its projects like the 1 Queue 1 Payment system that helps to efficiently integrate queue and payment systems. This cuts down the waiting time for the patients, such as those visiting polyclinics.I was also impressed that IHiS played a key role in developing HealthHub, an application and web portal that simplifies Singaporean's lives with easy access to family health records and e-Services.
I decided to apply for an internship at IHiS due to its reputation in Singapore and hope to learn valuable knowledge from the professionals in the company.
What is a memorable moment you encountered/experienced on-the-job?
One of the most memorable moments is of my colleagues celebrating the birthday of a colleague and having fun singing "happy birthday". The work culture of my department is extremely positive. During my time here, whenever I have difficulties, my colleagues will be happy to help out despite their busy schedules. They ensure that I am able to perform my tasks effectively and are happy to answer my questions.
How did you overcome any challenges?
When unexpected problems arose during data cleaning and visualisation, I search online for technical solutions and discuss them with my colleagues. With my colleague's assistance, we are able to identify any problems with the data and handle it swiftly. I learnt a lot from my colleagues and gained valuable insights into their process.
Over time, I have improved to become more competent in handling different types of data to meet the requirements of my tasks. I have learnt a lot from my time here, both in terms of technical skills as well as soft skills such as communication.
Describe the benefits of your project, and how you see it helping the public/Singapore.
My job revolves around data and I find that extremely important when it comes to HealthTech. Data visualisation enables stakeholders to make clear and effective decisions about how we provide healthcare to those in need. I am glad to be part of a team that makes a positive difference to the HealthTech sector and supports an efficient healthcare system for Singaporeans.
What traits do you need to perform well in your role?
I think soft skills such as communication and a willingness to learn are important. Communication is extremely important for a team to function well. It is also imperative to continuously absorb new knowledge to apply it to any given tasks. Being passionate also helps as passionate individuals will be willing to go beyond their boundaries to contribute to this meaningful industry.
How has your degree/knowledge learnt in school help them to prepare for the internship?
My knowledge in SMU in terms of technical skills has allowed me to easily adapt to this internship as I am able to quickly pick up new knowledge such as usage of PowerBI and Tableau software tools quickly. SMU has also taught me soft skills such as being a team player and being able to communicate effectively.
IHiS has rebranded as Synapxe, the national HealthTech agency. Read more about our new identity here.
